Device and method for providing data exchange and storage

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a device and method for providing data exchange and storage. The device comprises a controller module ( 62 ) which includes a firmware for controlling operation of each modules in the data exchange and storage device ( 60 ) and performing data processing and information exchange; and an internal memory module ( 61 ) for storing data under the control of the controller module ( 62 ); a system interface ( 63 ) module for connecting with the system interface and performing data exchange with the data processing system ( 10 ) under control of the controller module ( 62 ); and an external storage interface module ( 64 ) for connecting with external storage equipment and performing data exchange with the external storage equipment under control of the controller module ( 62 ). The device can accomplish connection with the data processing system of various types of interfaces and external storage equipment of various types of interfaces. The device can also implement functions that the data processing system access to the interior storage module and the external storage equipment. Thus, the device of this invention is called user&#39;s personal moveable storage center.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to data processing technology, morespecifically relates to a device capable of performing data exchange andstorage between an external storage equipment and a data processingsystem or between external storage equipments, and a method thereof.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, with rapid development and wide applications ofinformation technology and data technology, the data storage technologyis improved quickly in accordance with Moore's Law, of which changes onthe innovation of storage medium, expansion of storage capacity andstorage mode are representative.

At present, various storage cards including SM card, CF card, MMC cardand SD card, etc., are based on Flash Memory as medium, and are widelyapplied to digital equipments, such as digital camera, digital video,etc., as a storage device, due to its reliability of performance andexpandability. However, such a storage device or storage medium hasclear shortcomings, which exist clearly in the following aspects:

1) Small storage capacity. The capacity of various storage cardsexisting in the market currently includes 16M, 32M, 64M and 128M, whilethe storage cards up to the capacity level of gigabytes “GB” are costly,and therefore are unacceptable for ordinary consumers. The number offiles of digital photo or picture stored in storage medium of megabytesis very limited. For example, when a SM storage card of 16 M is used tostore digital photos or pictures, only four can be stored using SHQformat with a resolution of 2560×1920 pixels, only ten can be storedusing HQ format with a resolution of 2560×1920 pixels, and only onephoto or picture can be stored using TIFP format with a resolution of2560×1920 pixels.

2) Limitation of occasions of using such a storage card. A storage cardis a passive storage device, and must be connected to a computer as thedata processing system for operations of write and read performance onthe storage card. On occasions where carrying a computer may beinconvenient or no computer is available, the storage card cannot beused at all, and thus the usability thereof is low.

3) Card specialty and incompatibility. Due to the different standardsadopted by different digital equipment manufactures and differentinterface standards of computers, an interface converter (e.g. cardreader) must be required to perform data conversion between interfaceswhen these computers are connected to process data. In this case, if aplurality of different types of storage cards are desired, the user mayneed multiple card readers, and therefore, the cost of devices is high,and operation is complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the shortcomings in prior art, the present invention aims toprovide a device capable of realizing data exchange and storage, and amethod thereof. Even in the case where a storage device is not connectedwith a data processing system, it is capable, of exchanging and storingdata with other storage devices.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it provides a dataexchange and storage device comprising a controller module including afirmware for controlling operation of modules in the data exchange andstorage device and performing data processing and information exchange;an internal memory module which stores data under the control of thecontroller module; a system interface module which is connected with adata processing system and performs data exchange with the dataprocessing system under the control of the controller module; anexternal memory device interface module for connecting with an externalstorage equipment and performing data exchange with the external storageequipment under control of the controller module.

According to another aspect of the present invention, it provides amethod of data exchange and storage, which uses the data exchange andstorage device provided in accordance with the first aspect of theprevent invention to realize data exchange and storage among the dataexchange and storage device, an external storage equipment and a hostdata processing system, the method of data exchange and storagecomprises the steps of:

1) the controller module of the data exchange and storage devicedetecting characteristic information of the external storage equipmentconnected with the corresponding interface of the external storageequipment interface module, and choosing the corresponding interfaceprotocol according to the characteristic information of the externalstorage equipment to establish a connection with the external storageequipment; and

2) according to a request from the data processing system or a user, thecontroller module controlling the data exchange and storage device toperform a data exchange with the external storage equipment or the dataprocessing system, and controlling data access to the internal memorymodule and external storage equipment.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the followingadvantages: in the case where there is no data processing systemconnected therewith, the device of the invention is capable of storingthe data in the external storage equipment into the internal memorymodule of the invention, or storing the data in the internal memorymodule of the invention into the external storage equipment since thedevice of the present invention itself has data processing capability.The internal memory medium of the invention is expandable andchangeable. When the internal memory module of the invention is aremovable hard disk, the mass storage of mobile data can be implemented.In addition, a plurality of host interfaces and external storageequipment interfaces of the invention enable connection with a dataprocessing system of different types of interface and with a pluralityof different types of external storage equipment, and enable read andwrite functions of the data processing system to the data of theinternal memory module and the external storage module of the presentinvention, such that the device of the present invention may be used asa personal MSC (Moveable Storage Center).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data exchange and storage deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a data exchange and storage device withextended functions according to another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a principle block diagram of the system interface moduleaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a principle block diagram of the interface module of theexternal storage equipment according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a configuration block diagram of the power source moduleaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the data exchange and storage deviceimplemented by using USB interface and CF interface according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the data exchange and storage deviceimplemented by using IEEE1394 interface and SM interface according toanother embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the functions of application adopting aplurality of external storage equipment interfaces according to afurther embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an operational flowchart of the data exchange and storagedevice according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a procedural flowchart of data access when the data exchangeand storage device is not connected with a data processing systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is an operational flowchart of the data exchange and storagedevice according to another embodied scheme of the present invention;

FIG. 12 shows circuit principle of the power source module of FIG. 5;

FIG. 13 shows circuit principle of the liquid crystal display module inthe data exchange and storage device of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a circuit principle diagram where the system interface ofFIG. 6 is a USB interface;

FIG. 15 is a circuit principle diagram where the system interface ofFIG. 6 is an IEEE1394 interface;

FIG. 16 is a circuit principle diagram of the removable hard diskinterface as shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 17 is a circuit principle diagram where the external storageequipment interface of FIG. 6 is a CF interface;

FIG. 18 is a circuit principle diagram shown in FIG. 8 where theexternal storage equipment interface is an SM interface;

FIG. 19 is a circuit principle diagram shown in FIG. 8 where theexternal storage equipment interface is an MS interface;

FIG. 20 is a circuit principle diagram shown in FIG. 8 where theexternal storage equipment interface is an SD/MMC interface; and

FIG. 21 is a circuit principle diagram of the central controller of thecontroller module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafterwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

The data exchange and storage device of the present invention canrealize data exchange between all kinds of external storage equipments(including removable storage disks and storage cards), and between theexternal storage equipments and a host data processing system, and storethe data having read out from the external storage equipments or thehost data processing system into either side or both sides.

The data processing system of the present invention refers generally toall kinds of electronic equipments having a data processing capability,which includes but not limited to various personal computers, smallcomputers, microcomputers, palm computers, hand-held computers, notebookcomputers, and data processing workstations.

As shown in FIG. 1, the data exchange and storage device of the presentinvention includes an internal memory module 61 for data storage, asystem interface module 63 for connection with a data processing system,an external storage equipment interface module 64 for transmitting datato and from an external storage equipment, a controller module 62 forconnecting with and controlling all the above-mentioned modules, and apower source module 65 for supplying the power to those modules. In thecontroller module 62, provided is an operating and controlling firmwarewhich is used to drive the data exchange and storage device of thepresent invention to perform the data storage operation to externalstorage equipments even when the data exchange and storage device is notattached to any data processing system.

In the above embodiment of the present invention, the internal memorymodule 61 may include but not limited to hard disk, removable hard disk,semiconductor storage device, and optical-medium storage driving device,these storage devices may use a storage medium, such as, magneticstorage medium, optical storage medium and semiconductor storage medium.The storage medium of the semiconductor storage device uses but notlimited to flash memory, DRAM, EEPROM, SRAM, FRAM, MRAM and Millipede,and such a storage medium may comprise one or more semiconductor chips.

In one embodiment of the present invention, DRAM may be used as astorage medium for the internal memory module 61. DRAM is moreapplicable for a memory of high speed and big capacity because of itsexpendability. However, such a memory may lose all of the stored datawhen the power is off. Therefore, when DRAM is used in the internalmemory module 61 of the data exchange and storage device of the presentinvention, a power source (such as battery power) should be provided inorder to keep data stored in the DRAM for a relatively longer time.

In another embodiment, the internal memory module 61 may be removed. Inthis case, the above data exchange and storage device may work as a cardreader device with a plurality of interfaces or a connection devicebetween the external storage equipment and the data processing system,thereby enabling data accesses between the external storage equipmentand the data processing system.

In a further embodiment, an ejection device (not shown in the figure)may be mounted at the interface of the external storage equipmentinterface module 64. The ejection device will eject the external storageequipment if it is pressed.

The system interface module 63 may use a universal interface, such as awired universal interface or a wireless universal interface. As shown inFIG. 3, the controller module 62 may be connected with a singleinterface or a plurality of interfaces of the same type or differenttypes via the system interface module 63. Each of the interfaces isconnected to a different interface for a data processing system inaccordance with respective interface protocols. The type of interface ofthe system interface module 63 may include but not limited to USBinterface, IEEE1394 interface, Bluetooth interface, IrDA infraredinterface, HomeRF interface, IEEE802.11a or IEEE802.11b interface,IEEE802.11g interface, SCSI, RS232 interface, printer ports, wired widearea/local area interface and/or wireless wide area/local areainterface, and the like. The system interface module 63 is under controlof the controller module 62 to convert the data to be transmitted into adata format adapted to the protocol corresponding to an interfaceaccording to the types of the respective interfaces, or to interpret thereceived data format according to the interface type.

The external storage equipment interface module 64 is an interface forconnecting the controller module 62 to the external storage equipment.As shown in FIG. 4, the external storage equipment interface module 64may be a single interface, or may be a combination of a plurality ofuniform interfaces and/or a plurality of interfaces of different types.The interfaces provided in the external storage equipment interfacemodule 64 may include but not limited to SM, CF, MMC, SD, MS, MD and x-Dand the like, and may also include USB, IEEE1394, IDE, SCSI, Bluetooth,IrDA, HomeRF, IEEE802.1x and a series of other similar interfaces. Theexternal storage equipment interface module 64 may connect with anexternal storage equipment such as SM (Smart Media), CF (Compact Flash),MMC (Multi-Media Card), SD (Secure Digital), MS (Memory Stick), MD(Micro-Drive) and x-D (x-D Picture Card), etc., and may also connect ahard disk, a removable hard disk, or other semiconductor storage devicesand the like. The external storage equipment interface module 64 isunder the control of the controller module 62 to convert the data to betransmitted into a data format adapted to the protocol corresponding toan interface according to the types of the respective interfaces, or tointerpret the received data format according to the interface type.

The data exchange and storage device of the present invention providesthe operational power supply through the power source module 65. Thepower source module 65 may obtain the power from external or aself-supplied power source. It may also provide the power through thedata processing system via the interface of the system interface module63. In one embodiment, the power source module uses a self-suppliedpower source, and is provided with a power control switch that may turnoff/turn on the power source of the data exchange and storage device ofthe present invention. The self-supplied power source may select and usephotocell, primary battery and/or rechargeable battery. In addition, thepower source module 65 may be provided with a circuit to charge therechargeable battery when it is connected with the data processingsystem.

As shown in FIG. 5, the power source module 65 includes a powerconversion device 651, an interface power source module 652, a powersource switch device 653, a battery power source device 654, and a powermode indication device 655. The power source module 65 may realize thepower supply from the interface of the data processing system via theinterface power source module 652. In this case where the dataprocessing system is not connected, a power supplied by a self-suppliedpower source may be implemented through the power conversion device 651,the power source switch device 653, and the battery power source device654.

The circuit principle of the power source module 65 is shown in FIG. 12.The power circuit may provide a plurality of ways of power supplies, andprovide the data exchange and storage device of the present inventionwith a number of operating voltages. The power circuit may enable aninterface power source, a battery power source, and an external powersource. B1 shown in this figure is a battery power source device, J6 isthe jack of an external power source, D1, D2 are allowed to be suppliedby choosing one of the interface power sources, the battery power sourceand the external power source, preferably choosing the interface powersource connected with the data processing system. In this figure, abooster U6, resistors R16 and R17, capacitors C24, C27 and C31constitute an adjustment and regulation circuit of a voltage of +5 V. Inthis figure, a booster U7, capacitors C36, C37, C39 and C42 constitutean adjustment and regulation circuit of a voltage of +3.3 V. In thisfigure, a booster U8, resistors R18 and R19, capacitors C47 and C48constitute an adjustment and regulation circuit of voltage of +2.5V. Inthis figure, capacitors C16, C17, C19, C21, C22, C25, C28, C30, C33, C34and C35, and capacitors C18, C20, C23, C26, C29 and C32 constitute,respectively, two groups of filtering circuits of a voltage of +3.3 V.In this figure, capacitors C38, C40, C43 and C45, and capacitors C41,C44 and C46 constitute, respectively, two groups of filtering circuitsof a voltage of +2.5 V.

The controller module 62 is the central control module of the dataexchange and storage device of the present invention. As shown in FIG.1, the controller module 62 not only executes the data access commandsof the data processing system to the internal memory module 61 and/orthe external storage equipment of the present invention, but alsorealizes reading out the data stored in the external storage equipmentand storing it into the internal memory device 61 or reading out thedata stored in internal memory device 61 and storing the same to theexternal storage equipment when the data processing system is notconnected. The controller module 62 may support a plurality ofinterfaces with different standards, which include parallel, serialinterface or wireless interface; controlling the system interface module63 and the external storage equipment interface module 64, interpreting,converting, controlling and transmitting the data and commands based ondifferent interface protocol formats. The specific processes include:identifying the type of the interface to be connected in parallel, inseries and/or wirelessly, and selecting the corresponding interfaceprotocol; initializing the connection between the data exchange andstorage device of the present invention and the external storageequipment and the data processing system; permitting the data to beexchanged or accessed between the data processing system, the externalstorage equipment and the internal memory device 61 in accordance withspecified methods of the corresponding interface standard protocol.

The controller module 62 has a capability to independently process data,namely, in the case where the data exchange and storage device of thepresent invention is not connected with any data processing system, itcan still access the data stored in the external storage equipments,such as removable storage disks and/or storage cards, which areconnected therewith. The capability of independent data process can berealized primarily by the firmware of the controller module 62. Thefirmware, as part of the data exchange and storage device of the presentinvention, forms a small or micro operating system (OS), to implement avariety of data processing functions of the device of the presentinvention. The operational procedure of the firmware in the controllermodule 62 will be described hereinafter in association with FIG. 9.

First, when a user attaches the data exchange and storage device of thepresent invention to a corresponding interface of the data processingsystem, the data processing operating system initializes a systeminterface when the power is turned on. This includes starting equipmentdrive programs, and the controller module 62 carries out the followingoperations:

1) Executing device initialization through the operating system in thecontroller module 62. The initialization operation includes theinitialization of the controller module 62 and peripheral interface chipcircuits, the identification and connection to the internal memorymodule 61, and the identifications and connections to other peripheraldevices, and further includes generating a disk identifier for aremovable storage device in the data processing system.

2) Detecting whether there are external storage equipments (such as aremovable storage disk and storage card) to be inserted into thecorresponding interface of the external storage equipment interfacemodule 64. If an external storage equipment is detected, then it willdetect the type of the external storage equipment being inserted at thesame time, and then select a corresponding protocol for the interface,thereby establishing a connection between the external storage equipmentand the data processing system in accordance with the specified methodsof the corresponding interface standard protocol.

3) If the data processing system sends an operation request to theinternal memory module 61 of the data exchange and storage device, thedata processing system will perform the operation of exchanging andaccessing data with the internal memory module 61 through the controllermodule 62.

4) If the data processing system sends an operation request to anexternal storage equipment inserted into an interface of the dataexchange and storage device, the data processing system will perform theoperation of exchanging and accessing data with the external storageequipment through the controller module 62.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, if a user does not connectthe data exchange and storage device of the present invention with thedata processing system, but provides it directly with power and sets itinto an operational stage, the controller module 62 will carry out thefollowing operations of:

1′) implementing device initialization through the firmware (operatingsystem) in the controller module 62, including initialization of thecontroller module 62 and the peripheral interface chip circuits,identification and connection of the internal memory module 61, andidentification and connection of other external devices;

2′) detecting if there is an external storage equipments to be insertedinto the corresponding interface of the external storage equipmentinterface module 64; if an external storage equipment is detected, itwill detect the type of the external storage equipment being inserted atthe same time, interface type and the characteristic information of thedevice; repeating the above operations if a plurality of externalstorage equipments of different types are inserted into thecorresponding interfaces;

3′) selecting a corresponding interface protocol, and establishing aconnection of the external storage equipment with the internal memorymodule 61 in accordance with the specified methods of the correspondinginterface standard protocol;

4′) responding to the operational requests from the users, whichincludes reading data in the external storage equipment or the internalmemory module 61, writing the data into the internal memory module 61 orthe external storage equipment, and generating information prompts tothe data read out through an information prompt module, such as thepictures displayed on a liquid crystal display and the like.

The controller module 62 can be divided by functionality, which mayinclude a system interface controller, a core controller and an externalstorage equipment interface controller. The controller module 62 may bea single controller chip, and may also be formed by connecting aplurality of controller chips, such as the system interface controller,the core controller and the external storage equipment interfacecontroller, in accordance with standard protocol. In the data exchangeand storage device of the present invention, the core controller is acore controller chip U4 as shown in FIG. 21. In one embodiment, the corecontroller chip is a S3C44B0 chip manufactured by SAMSUNG Corp. as acore processor of the data exchange and storage device of the presentinvention. Not only it enables data exchange and data access between aplurality of interfaces or multiple types of interfaces, different typesof data processing systems, external storage equipments, and theinternal memory module 61 of the device of the present invention, butmore importantly it permits data exchange and data access between theinternal memory module 61 and the external storage equipment 10 when thedevice of the present invention is not connected with any dataprocessing system.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, thefunctions and applications of the data exchange and storage device ofthe present invention may be expended by including one or more extensionmodules. As shown in FIG. 2, the present invention may further include amanual control module 66, an information prompt module 67, an audiomodule 68, a video module 69, and other functional modules. Thesefunctional modules may be integrated with the other modules of the dataexchange and storage device in the previous embodiments, therebyrealizing a personal moveable storage center (MSC) with multiplefunctions.

Specifically, the manual control module 66 may be used primarily for thedata exchange and storage device of the present invention to controlcapture and transmission of data, to control the information prompt, toswitch operational modes, and to be an enabling switch. The use ofmanual control module 66 may realize the manual control of the functionsthe data exchange and storage device of the present invention, such as,data capture and transmission, information prompt, and switching ofoperational modes. In one embodiment, the manual control module 66, forexample, includes dial switch and keys.

The information prompt module 67 is connected with the controller module62 to prompt user information and the information of operational modes.The information includes user information, product information,equipment information, and the characteristic information of equipment,the information of operational modes and the information aboutconnection with the external storage equipments, such as, product type,model, and manufacturer of the external storage equipments. The means ofinformation prompt may adopt liquid crystal display, light emittingdiode matrix, LED, sound prompt and vibrators. The information promptmodule 67 may further include a manual control device, by which themanual control of the information prompt is implemented. The manualcontrol device may be keys, but is not limited to the keys.

The audio module 68 may combine with the internal memory module or theexternal storage equipment to realize a multi-media function of thedevice of the present invention, such as, music playing, sound playing,words recitation, recording, etc. The audio module 68 establishes theconnections with the controller module 62, the internal memory module61, the power source module 65, the manual control module 66 andinformation prompt module 67, respectively. The controller module 62 maycontrol, coordinate the overall operations of the audio module 68. Theaudio module 68 may have an individual controller, which may alsocombine with the controller module 62 into one, and include a separatebuilt-in drivers and application programs. The audio files may be storedin the internal memory module 61, and may also be stored in an externalstorage equipment, such as, CF card, and SM card. It may be furtherstored in the data processing system connected therewith. Themulti-media function of the audio module 68 may be manually controlledthrough the manual control module 66, and both of the operationalinformation and the mode information of the audio module 68 may beobtained to prompt information through the information prompt module 67.

As an extension module of the data exchange and storage device of thepresent invention, a video module 69 is used to implement functions of avideo system device, such as video information playback and imagedisplay, etc. The video module 69 includes a functional interface whichis connected with the video system device and through which an externalvideo system device may transfer the acquired video information to thecontroller module 62 of the storage device of the present invention. Thecontroller module 62 may store the video information in the internalmemory module 61 or the external storage equipment. The videoinformation may further be transferred to the data processing systemconnected with the data exchange and storage device of the presentinvention. The transmission of the video information may be controlledthrough the manual control module 66. In addition, the video module 69may be a micro video device, and may also be an interface connecting thevideo system device.

FIG. 6 is an architectural block diagram of one embodiment of the dataexchange and storage device of the present invention. In thisembodiment, the system interface is a USB interface module 631, theinterface of the external storage equipment is a CF interface module641, and a mobile hard disk drive 671 is used as the internal memorydevice. In addition, it further includes a liquid crystal display module671 for information prompt, a keyboard input controlling part 661 formanual operations, an MP3 player 681 for playing audio, and a connectioninterface 691 of movie device for connecting a movie collecting device.The controller module 62 establishes electrical connections with themobile hard drive 611, the USB interface module 631, the CF interfacemodule 641, the liquid crystal display module 671, the keyboard inputcontrolling part 661, and the MP3 player 681, respectively. The aboveelectrical connections all support a two-way transmission for signal anddata.

In the embodiment, the USB interface is a standard USB interface, Forexample, a standard miniature USB (Mini-USB, On-The-Go standard). Inthis case, the USB interface conforms to the USB standard on the aspectssuch as electric signal, physical structure and physical size. Indeed,the USB interface may also be a non-standard USB interface, namely, onlyits electric signal conforms to the USB standard, but the physicalstructure and size do not employ the USB standard.

The USB interface in the embodiment supports USB2.0 standard protocol,and is compatible with USB1.1 standard protocol, and it may realizehigh-speed data transmission. When it is connected into a USB2.0, itstheoretical data transmission rate is up to 480 MB/S.

As shown in FIG. 6, the data exchange and storage device of theembodiment may be connected into a plurality of data processing systems10 via the USB interface, and perform the transmission and storage ofdata and information by connecting with external storage equipments viaa CF interface (e.g. a removable storage disk 20 and/or a storage card30). The CF interface is compatible with CF-ATA interface or PCMCIA orTrue IDE interface. The data exchange and storage device 60 may serve asthe external storage equipment connected with the data processingsystems 10, and allow the data processing system 10 to read and writedata directly on the mobile hard disk drive 611 and the external storageequipment 20 and/or 30. At the same time, the removable storage deviceof the embodiment may serve as USB Mass Storage and card reader deviceto support the USB Mass Storage protocol and the CF interfacetransmission protocol. The data processing systems 10 may not onlyperform data exchange operations to the external storage equipment 20,30, but also perform a data exchange operation to the mobile hard diskdrive 611. In addition, it may further enable the data exchanges betweenthe external storage equipment 20, 30 and the mobile hard disk drive 611through the data processing systems 10.

The principle circuit diagram of the USB interface module 631 used bythe system interface of the embodiment is shown in FIG. 14. The USBinterface and the USB controller support the USB2.0 standard protocol.In the figure, J1 is a jack of a USB interface, U1 is a USB controller,and CY1 is a crystal oscillator of 12 MHZ for providing operating pulsesto the USB controller U1. USB_T, USB_WK, USB_CS, USB_RD, USB_WR,USB_INT, USB_ALE and USB_RST of the USB controller U1, as transmittingends of control signals, are respectively connected with thecorresponding ends of the core controller U4 as shown in FIG. 21. D0˜D7in the USB controller U1, as data and address transmitting ends, arerespectively connected with the corresponding ends of the corecontroller U4.

The USB interface module 631 enables connections with the dataprocessing system 10, interpreting, converting, controlling andtransmitting data and commands based on the USB protocol formats,performing the initialization of the USB interface and controlling,receiving the commands and data transmitted from the data processingsystems 10, interpreting and executing the commands transmitted from thedata processing system 10, and feeding back the information and datafrom the core controller U4 to the data processing system 10, therebyestablishing the physical and logical connection between the dataprocessing system 10 and the data exchange and storage device 60 of thepresent invention.

A principle circuit diagram of the CF interface module 641 used by theexternal storage equipment interface of the embodiment is shown in FIG.17. J3 in the figure represents an interface connector of the CF cardfor connecting a CF card as external storage equipment. The CF interfaceis compatible with CF-ATA interface or PCMCIA or True IDE interface.CD1#, CD2#, A01#, A02#, CS0#, CS1#, IORDY#, RESET#, IOWR# and IORD#, astransmitting ends of control signals, are respectively connected withthe corresponding ends of the core controller U4 as shown in FIG. 21.D0˜D15 in the J3, as data and address transmitting ends, arerespectively connected with the corresponding ends of the corecontroller U4.

A mobile hard disk drive used as the internal memory module in theembodiment is shown in FIG. 16, wherein J2 is a connector of the mobilehard disk drive for connecting with the mobile hard disk drive 611. Thespecification of the mobile hard disk drive 611 to be connected is 2.5inches. Indeed, it may also be a mobile hard disk drive of 1.8 inches.In the figure, /IOW, /IOR, IO_CH_RD, IRQR, /DA1, DA0, /IDE_CS0, /ACTIVE,/IDE_CS1, DA2, BACKUP, /IOCS16, as transmitting ends of control signals,are respectively connected with the corresponding ends of the corecontroller U4 as shown in FIG. 21. D0˜D15 in the J2, as data and addresstransmitting ends, are respectively connected with the correspondingends of the core controller U4.

A principle circuit diagram of the liquid crystal display module 671used for information prompt in the embodiment is shown in FIG. 13,wherein LDB0˜LDB7, as the display bits for data signals, arerespectively connected with the corresponding ends of the corecontroller U4.

FIG. 7 is an architectural block diagram of another embodiment of thedata exchange and storage device of the present invention. In thisembodiment, the system interface is an IEEE1394 interface module 632.The interface of the external storage equipment interface module is anSM interface module 642, and the internal memory device uses a DRAMstorage module 612 having DRAM as a storage medium. In addition, similarto the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the data exchange and storage devicefurther comprises a liquid crystal display module 671 for informationprompt, a key input controlling part 661 for manual operation, a MP3player 681 for playing audio, and a movie device connection interface691 for connecting with a movie collecting device. The controller module62 establishes electrical connections with the DRAM storage module 612,the IEEE1394 interface module 632, the SM interface module 642, theliquid crystal display module 671, the key input controlling part 661,and the MP3 player 681, respectively. In the embodiment, the powersource module 65 is self-supplied by battery power to maintain powersupply to the DRAM storage module 612 over a long period of time and toprevent the valid data from losing.

In this embodiment, the IEEE1394 interface is a standard IEEE1394interface, namely, the IEEE1394 interface conforms to the IEEE1394standard on the aspects such as electric signal, physical structure andphysical size. Indeed, the IEEE1394 interface may also be a non-standardIEEE1394 interface, namely, only its electric signal conforms to theIEEE1394 standard, but the physical structure and size do not employ theIEEE1394 standard.

The data exchange and storage device 60 of the embodiment may beconnected into a plurality of the data processing systems 10 through theIEEE1394 interface, and may be connected with an external storageequipment having an SM interface (e.g., the removable disk 20 and/orstorage card 30) via the SM interface module 642, to transmit and storedata and information. The data processing system 10 may directly readand write to the DRAM storage module 612 and the external storageequipment by connecting the data processing system 10 via the IEEE1394interface. At the time, the data exchange and storage device 60 of theembodiment may act as an IEEE1394 mass storage device and a card readerdevice to support the IEEE1394 protocol and the SM interfacetransmission protocol. The data processing system 10 may not onlyperform a data exchange operation to the external storage equipment, butmay also perform a data exchange operation to the DRAM storage module612. In addition, the data exchange between the external storageequipment and the DRAM storage module 612 may be realized through thedata processing system 10.

The principle circuit diagram of the IEEE1394 interface module 632 usedby the system interface of the embodiment is shown in FIG. 15. TheIEEE1394 interface and the IEEE1394 controller support the IEEE1394standard protocol. In this figure, J10 is a jack of an IEEE1394interface, U10 is an IEEE1394 controller, and CY10 is a crystaloscillator of 12 MHZ for providing operating pulses to the IEEE1394controller U10. 1394_RD and 1394_WR of the IEEE1394 controller U10, astransmitting ends of control signals, are respectively connected withthe corresponding ends of the core controller U4 as shown in FIG. 21.D0˜D15 in the controller U10, as data and address transmitting ends, arerespectively connected with the corresponding ends of the corecontroller U4.

The IEEE1394 interface module 632 enables connections with the dataprocessing systems 10, interpreting, converting, controlling andtransmitting data and commands based on the IEEE1394 protocol formats,performing the initialization of the IEEE1394 interface and controlling,receiving the commands and data transmitted from the data processingsystems 10, interpreting and executing the commands transmitted from thedata processing systems 10, and feeding back the information and datafrom the core controller U4 to the data processing systems 10, therebyestablishing the physical and logical connections between the dataprocessing systems 10 and the data exchange and storage device 60 of thepresent invention.

A principle circuit diagram of the SM interface module 642 used by theexternal storage equipment interface module of the embodiment is shownin FIG. 18. J7 in the figure represents an interface connector of the SMinterface for connecting an SM card as external storage equipment.SM_ALE, SM_CLE, SM_RE, SM_WE, SM_WP, SM_R/B, SM_CE, SM_CD and SM_SW0shown in the figure, as transmitting ends of control signals, arerespectively connected with the corresponding ends of the corecontroller U4 as shown in FIG. 21. In addition, D0˜D7 in the J7, as dataand address transmitting ends, are respectively connected with thecorresponding ends of the core controller U4.

FIG. 8 is an architectural block diagram of the data exchange andstorage device of a further embodiment of the present invention. In thisembodiment, the system interface is a USB interface, and the interfaceof the external storage equipment interface module may be a plurality ofinterface modules 643, such as, SM, CF, MS, SD/MMC, etc. A mobile harddisk drive 611 is used as the internal memory device. Similar to theembodiments shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the data exchange and storagedevice further includes a liquid crystal display module 671 forinformation prompt, a key input controlling part 661 for manualoperation, an MP3 player 681 for playing audio, and a movie deviceconnection interface 691 for connecting with a movie collecting device.The controller module 62 establishes electrical connections with themobile hard disk drive 611, the USB interface module 633, the externalstorage equipment interface module 643 (SM, CF, MS, SD/MMC), the liquidcrystal display module 671, the key input controlling part 661, and theMP3 player 681, respectively. The above electrical connections allsupport a two-way transmission for signal and data. The data exchangeand storage device 60 of the embodiment may be connected into aplurality of the data processing systems 10 through the USB interface633, and may be connected with a plurality of relevant external storageequipments, such as SM card, CF card, MS memory stick, SD card and MMCcard, etc., via the SM, the CF, the MS and the SD/MMC interface module643 to transmit and store data and information. The CF interface iscompatible with CF-ATA interface or PCMCIA or True IDE interface. Thedata processing system 10 may directly perform the read and writeoperations on the mobile hard disk drive 611 and/or the external storageequipment by connecting the data processing system 10 via the USBinterface. Thus, the data exchange and storage device 60 of theembodiment may act as USB Mass Storage and card reader device to supportthe USB Mass Storage protocol and the SM, the CF, the MS and the SD/MMCinterface transmission protocol. The data processing system 10 may notonly perform data exchange and storage operations to the externalstorage equipment, but also perform data exchange and storage operationsto the mobile hard disk drive 611. In addition, the data exchangebetween the external storage equipment and the mobile hard disk drive611 may be implemented through the data processing system 10.

FIG. 19 and FIG. 20 are principle circuit diagrams of the MS interfaceand SD/MMC interface of the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 19, J4 is aconnector of the MS interface for connecting an MS memory stick asexternal storage equipment. MS_SCLK, MS_INS, MS_SDIO and MS_BS shown inthe figure, as transmitting ends of control signals, are respectivelyconnected with the corresponding ends of the core controller U4 as shownin FIG. 21.

J5 in the FIG. 20 is a connector of the SD/MMC interface for connectingSD card or MMC card. WR_PROTECT, CD/DAT3, CMD and CARD_DETECT, astransmitting ends of control signals, are respectively connected withthe corresponding ends of the core controller U4 as shown in FIG. 21.DAT2, DAT1 and DAT0, as the data and address transmitting ends of theSD/MMC, are respectively connected with the corresponding ends of thecore controller U4. The data transmissions of the MS interface and theSD/MMC interface are carried out in a serial manner.

FIG. 11 is a processing flowchart of the data exchange and storagedevice of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 8. Theoperational flows of the data exchange and storage device shown in FIG.6 and FIG. 7 are similar to this example.

If the data exchange and storage device of the present invention is inan operational mode while the power is on, then the controller module 62performs initialization. The operation of initialization includes theinitializations to the controller module 62 and peripheral interfacechip circuits, and the identification and connection to the internalmemory module 61. At the same time, the controller module 62 detects ifthere is any external storage equipment to be inserted into thecorresponding interface of the external storage equipment interfacemodule 64. If an external storage equipment is detected, it will detectthe type of the external storage equipment being inserted, the type ofthe interface, and the characteristic information of the device. Theabove operations, which are to detect the type of the external storageequipment being inserted, the type of the interface, and thecharacteristic information of the device, will be repeated when aplurality of external storage equipments of different types are insertedinto the corresponding interfaces. Furthermore, the results of detectioncan be displayed through the liquid crystal display module 671.

When the data exchange and storage device of the present invention isconnected with the data processing system 10 via a USB interface, thecontroller module 62 receives the commands and information from the dataprocessing system 10. When the data processing system 10 receives a USBoperation request, the controller module 62 performs a USB communicationwith the data processing system 10 in accordance with the USB standardprotocol, and executes the USB operation commands of the data processingsystem 10, for example, performing the read and write operations to harddisks for exchanging and accessing data so as to realize the dataexchange between the data processing system 10 and an external storageequipment or a removable hard disk or a DRAM storage module.

If the data exchange and storage device of the present invention 60 isin an operational mode without being connected with the data processingsystem 10, and a user inputs an operating command through operationalkeys in the key input controlling part 661 on the device 60, thecontroller module 62 will execute the relevant operations according tothe command, for example, alternatively storing the data in the externalstorage equipment into the removable hard disk. At the same time, theuser may also merely display the data read from the external storageequipment on the liquid crystal display module, and the user mayalternatively store the data into the mobile hard disk drive 611 (in theembodiment of FIG. 7, into the DRAM storage module 612) upon requests.The alternative operation may also be controlled through the keys.

Referring to FIG. 11 in detail, the data exchange and storage deviceshown in FIG. 8 is used as an example. After the user has determined toexecute the operation of storing the data in the external storageequipment into the mobile hard disk drive 611 as an internal memorymodule, the firmware, i.e., the operating system in the controllermodule 62 will read the device information of the external storageequipment and the removable hard dish 611 from the relevant interfaces.The information includes type of the device, storage capacity, availablespace, type of the interface and the like of the external storageequipment and the removable hard dish 611. At the same time, theoperating system creates a directory corresponding to the externalstorage equipment located under the relevant directory in the mobilehard disk drive 611. The first file is then read from the correspondingexternal storage equipment and transmitted into the controller module62, and the information read out is displayed on the liquid crystaldisplay module 671. Upon the user's confirmation, the file is copiedinto the relevant directory created in the mobile hard disk drive 611.After the file has been copied, the firmware detects if there stillexists non-copied files in the external storage equipment. If such filesexist, then the aforementioned copy operation will be repeated till allthe files in the external storage equipment have been copied into themobile hard disk drive 611.

In addition, all the information of the above operational processes,which include device initialization, user operation, data processingoperation, file replication operation, and file replication process, maybe displayed in the liquid crystal display module 671.

1. A data exchange and storage device, comprising: a controller moduleincluding a firmware used for controlling the operation of each ofmodules in the data exchange and storage device and performing dataprocessing and information exchange; an internal memory module forstoring data under the control of the controller module; a systeminterface module capable of being connected with a data processingsystem and performing data exchange with the data processing systemunder the control of the controller module; an external storageequipment interface module being connected with an external storageequipment and performing data exchange with the external storageequipment under the control of the controller module; and an audiomodule and/or a video module for combing with the internal memory moduleor external storage equipments to implement a function of playingmulti-media, wherein the controller module permits data exchange anddata access between any two of the data processing system, the internalmemory module, and the external storage equipment, and permits dataexchange and data access from the internal memory module to the externalstorage equipment and from the external storage equipment to theinternal memory module without the data processing system.
 2. The dataexchange and storage device of claim 1, wherein the internal memorymodule includes a hard disk, a removable hard disk, a semiconductorstorage, and an optical medium storage.
 3. The data exchange and storagedevice of claim 2, wherein the storage medium of the semiconductorstorage is selected from one of Flash Memory, DRAM, EEPROM, SRAM, FRAM,MRAM and Millipede, and adopts one or more semiconductor chips.
 4. Thedata exchange and storage device of claim 1, wherein the systeminterface module includes USB interface, IEEE1394 interface, Bluetoothinterface, IrDA infrared interface, HomeRF interface, IEEE802.11ainterface, IEEE802.11b, IEEE802.11g, SCSI, RS232 and printer parallelport, wired wide area/local area interface and/or wireless widearea/local area interface.
 5. The data exchange and storage device ofclaim 1, wherein the external storage equipment interface moduleincludes SM, CF, MMC, SD, MS, MD or x-D interface.
 6. The data exchangeand storage device of claim 1, wherein the system interface module andthe external storage equipment interface module either include singleinterface or a group of interfaces of the same type or different typesof interfaces.
 7. The data exchange and storage device of claim 1,further comprising a power source module for supplying power to the dataexchange and storage device from the data processing system through anexternal power source or a self-supplied battery or the system interfacemodule.
 8. The data exchange and storage device claim 1, furthercomprising a manual control module for performing the manual control ofdata capture and transmission, information prompt, and operational modeswitching.
 9. The data exchange and storage device of claim 8, whereinthe manual control module includes a dial switch and keys.
 10. The dataexchange and storage device of claim 1, further comprising aninformation prompt module for displaying static information and dynamicinformation.
 11. The data exchange and storage device of claim 10,wherein the information includes user information, product information,device information, transmission file information, operational stateinformation and the information of external storage equipments which areconnected therewith.
 12. The data exchange and storage device of claim10, wherein the information prompt module includes at least one of aliquid crystal display, a light emitting diode, a sound device and avibrator.
 13. The data exchange and storage device of claim 1, furthercomprising an eject device arranged at the interface of the externalstorage equipment interface module, the eject device may eject theexternal storage equipment after being pressed.
 14. The data exchangeand storage device of claim 1, wherein the external storage equipmentinterface module is capable of receiving a removable disk or a storagecard.
 15. A method of data exchange and storage for realizing dataexchange and data storage between the data exchange and storage device,the external storage equipment and the data processing system hostthrough the data exchange and storage device of claim 1, comprising thesteps of: 1) the controller module of the data exchange and storagedevice detecting the characteristic information of the external storageequipments connected with the relevant interfaces of the externalstorage equipment interface module, selecting the relevant interfaceprotocols according to the characteristic information of the externalstorage equipments, and establishing connections with the externalstorage equipments; 2) the controller module controlling data exchangeand data access between any two of the data processing system host, theinternal memory module of the data exchange and storage device, and theexternal storage equipment, and controlling data exchange and dataaccess from the internal memory module to the external storage equipmentand from the external storage equipment to the internal memory modulewithout the data processing system.
 16. The method of data exchange andstorage of claim 15, further comprising: the controller moduledisplaying the data read from the external storage equipment or theinternal memory module on a display part of an information prompt moduleaccording to the operational instructions of the data processing systemand the users; and/or outputting the user information, the operationalstate information of the data exchange and storage device, the relevantinformation of the external storage equipment through the informationprompt module.
 17. The method of data exchange and storage of claim 15,further comprising: playing a multi-media data read from the externalstorage equipment or the internal memory module through an audio moduleand/or a video module according to the operational instructions of thedata processing system and the users.
 18. The method of data exchangeand storage of claim 15, further comprising: a manual control moduletransmitting the operational instructions, such as, storing user data,prompting information, switching operational modes, etc., to thecontroller module.